Under a Wild Sky, page 44
254In October they arrived in Edinburgh Buchanan (ed.), The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, page 171.
254In addition to engraving, printselling, and publishing Printed advertisement, circa 1830 (Ewell Sale Stewart Library and Archives).
254Audubon asked Havell to display Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., January 16, 1831 (Houghton).
254My letter will be through necessity Audubon to Lucy Audubon, October 11, 1829 (Beinecke).
255Another factor in the decision Fries, The Double Elephant Folio, page 47.
255Audubon confided to Charles-Lucien Bonaparte Audubon to Bonaparte, July 14, 1830. Quoted in Ford, John James Audubon, pages 269–70. Audubon had been telling this to Bonaparte since they had first met in Philadelphia six years earlier. In this letter, he put it bluntly, saying that he was “not a learned naturalist” but only a “practical one.”
255Audubon had thought initially of William Swainson Audubon to William Swainson, August 22, 1830 (Linnaean Society Archives).
255He told Audubon that their coming to stay with him William Swainson to Audubon, between August 24 and August 28, 1830. Quoted in Herrick, Audubon the Naturalist, vol. II, pages 103–5.
256One of the people he talked to was Ralph, William MacGillivray, page 35.
256Eleven years younger than Audubon Ibid., pages 1–35. The physical description is from the frontispiece likeness of MacGillivray in Ralph’s book.
256When Audubon met him Ibid., pages 29–32.
256Toward the end of 1830 Ibid., page 35. A few months later, MacGillivray apparently regretted not asking for credit as a coauthor, and complained of it in a letter—Willliam MacGillivray to Audubon, May 7, 1831 (Beinecke).
256Audubon, rising at dawn Buchanan (ed.), The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, page 172.
257MacGillivray matched Audubon’s manic pace Ibid.
257Prone to rheumatism, Lucy found Edinburgh Lucy to Robert Havell Jr., December 2, 1830 (Houghton).
257Audubon, whom she observed Ibid.
257It was so foggy in Edinburgh Ibid.
257Anyone having business with Audubon Ibid. Lucy’s correspondence on behalf of Audubon commenced in Edinburgh and would continue, as needed when “Mr. Audubon” was “particularly engaged,” for many years.
257She told Mrs. Havell that they were far too busy Lucy Audubon to Mrs. Havell, February 27, 1831 (Houghton).
257In a burst of headlong writing Buchanan (ed.), The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, page 172. Apparently the book was typeset as the copy was produced, as it was ready to ship within weeks of Audubon and MacGillivray completing their draft.
257The typeset version ran to Audubon, Ornithological Biography, vol. I.
258I feel pleasure here in acknowledging Ibid., pages xviii–xix.
258Audubon planned to sell Fries, The Double Elephant Folio, page 50.
259And so he interspersed the bird accounts Audubon, title page, Ornithological Biography, vol. I.
259In “Kentucky Barbicue” Audubon, “Kentucky Barbicue on the Fourth of July,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 576–79.
259He wrote a devoted remembrance Audubon, “A Wild Horse,” Ornithological Biography, vol. III, pages 270–74.
259He wrote enthusiastically of Audubon, “The Squatters of the Mississippi,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 131–34.
259There was a pioneer family’s recollection Audubon, “The Burning of the Forests,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 397–402; and “The Lost One,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 69–73.
259Then there was the ghastly Audubon, “The Death of a Pirate,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 185–89.
260In “Pitting of Wolves,” Audubon told Audubon, “Pitting of Wolves,” Ornithological Biography, vol. III, pages 338–41.
260After an entertaining discussion Audubon, “Scipio and the Bear,” Ornithological Biography, vol. I, pages 479–82.
261In “The Prairie,” Audubon recounted Audubon, “The Prairie,” Ornithological Biography, vol. I, pages 81–84.
261There was a similar dubious quality Audubon, “The Runaway,” Ornithological Biography, vol. II, pages 27–32.
262In “The Earthquake” he told of riding Audubon, “The Earthquake,” Ornithological Biography, vol. I, pages 239–41.
263Audubon without question experienced Walker, Earthquake, pages 112–13.
263At the time of the initial quake Lucy Audubon to Euphemia Gifford, January 5, 1812 (Princeton University Library).
264“Kentucky Sports” began with Audubon, “Kentucky Sports,” Ornithological Biography, vol. I, pages 290–95.
265Audubon gave a much fuller description Audubon, “Colonel Boon,” Ornithological Biography, vol. I, pages 503–6.
265The stature and general appearance of this wanderer Ibid.
265Daniel Boone left Kentucky Faragher, Daniel Boone, pages 308–9.
266Boone, who was by then almost eighty Ford, John James Audubon, page 88.
266Lucy wrote to Mrs. Havell to say that so much Lucy Audubon to Mrs. Havell, February 27, 1831 (Houghton).
266In the fall of 1831 Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
267Off to starboard the surf crashed Personal observation. I have family in this part of the world, and have spent much time on the same beautiful and often wild stretch of ocean.
267On November 20 the Agnes made port Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 13, 1831, and November 23, 1831. The arrival date is derived from Audubon’s plan to leave Charleston “the day after tomorrow” stated in his November 13 letter, and the duration of the passage, stated as five days in the letter of November 23 (Beinecke).
267It reminded him of “an old French Village” Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
267Established in 1565 by the Spanish Gannon, The New History of Florida, page 44.
267Audubon thought the people here were the laziest Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 29, 1831 (Beinecke).
267The weather, too, was awful Ibid.
267One day Audubon explored Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
267He wrote a series of cheerful letters to Lucy Audubon to Lucy Audubon, December 5, 1831 (Beinecke). Audubon said being once again in the wilds of America had made him feel “as young as ever.” Lucy, he advised, should be “gay” and “happy.”
268He even devised a plan Ibid.
268But letters from Havell Ibid.
268“Do not despond my Lucy” Ibid.
268The subscriber list seemed to have leveled off Ford, John James Audubon, page 281.
268On August 1, 1831 Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., July 31, 1831 (Houghton).
268From New York they had gone to Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., September 20, 1831 (Houghton). Although Audubon mentions only three subscribers in this letter, he got a fourth—the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia—as Lucy reported in a letter to Mrs. Havell twelve days later—Lucy Audubon to Mrs. Havell, October 2, 1831 (Houghton). A month after this Richard Harlan wrote to Audubon about the arrival and condition of the academy’s copy of The Birds of America.
268Audubon declared, prematurely it turned out Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., September 20, 1831 (Houghton).
268Victor met his parents Audubon to Lucy Audubon, October 9, 1831; October 13, 1831; and October 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
268He was accompanied again Audubon to Lucy Audubon, October 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
268Audubon and his companions Ibid.
269The Reverend John Bachman Shuler, Had I the Wings, pages 18–23.
269Bachman lived in a large, three-story Description from a photograph in Herrick, Audubon the Naturalist, vol. II, page 6.
269The busy household hummed Audubon to Lucy Audubon, October 23, 1831 (Beinecke).
269Bachman insisted that Audubon Ibid.
269Audubon made good use Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 7, 1831 (Beinecke).
269They were well convinced of Ibid.
270Seven years after he’d been blackballed Thomas McEwan to Audubon, October 25, 1831 (Beinecke). McEwan was the corresponding secretary of the academy. Ironically, William MacGillivray had been elected a member a few weeks earlier.
270“This is a wild country” Lucy Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., November 1, 1831 (Houghton).
270From November through March Lucy Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., November 30, 1831 (Houghton). This letter was typical of a number that Lucy fired off to Havell that winter. In it, she insists that he cease selling individual prints and pay closer attention to the coloring and finishing of the plates: “Excuse my urging at Mr. Audubon’s request your most particular attention to the work in all points for there are ever ready persons disposed to find every objection possible.”
270Havell, exasperated, finally did Actually, it may have been that Havell had been writing all along, but that his letters were delayed. Audubon got several in December, while he was in Florida, and Lucy heard from Havell in February—Lucy Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., February 20, 1832 (Houghton).
271Audubon gave specific instructions Personal observation. At Mill Grove, I examined Audubon’s notations on a proof that Havell was to use in making a finished print.
271Inexplicably, Havell simply appropriated Personal observation. This famous theft has been well documented elsewhere, but just to make sure I measured and examined both Wilson’s and Audubon’s kites at the Houghton Library. The reversed images are identical.
271Meanwhile, unaware of this transgression Lucy Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., March 22, 1832 (Houghton).
271“Mr. A and I are” Ibid.
271The real “check” Lucy provided Victor Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., July 21, 1832 (Houghton). Victor informed Havell that he would sail for England by the beginning of October. Prior to this decision, Audubon and Lucy debated how best to involve Victor in the project, with Audubon initially arguing that his son could best be used to solicit subscriptions in America. Audubon eventually acquiesced to this plan and was glad of it.
271She wrote again to Havell, admonishing him Lucy Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., June 24, 1832 (Houghton).
271Audubon, Lehman, and Ward Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 29, 1831 (Beinecke). In this letter, Audubon said his transition from “Idleness to hard Labour” was having a tonic effect—energizing him like an “electric fluid,” and helping him to set aside many of the concerns that had occupied his thoughts for so long. Only a week before, he had confessed to Lucy that he feared Havell might have died. But he was growing confident that anything—even a disaster such as his engraver’s untimely demise—could be overcome. Havell, meanwhile, was fine. The daily routine described here, including Audubon’s practice of quickly drawing the outlines of birds before the heat spoiled the specimens, is from “Letter from Audubon to the Editor,” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol. I, no. 8 (1832), 358–63.
272Writing to a friend in Philadelphia “Letter from Audubon to the Editor,” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol. I, no. 8 (1832), 358–63.
272This was the lot of many men Ibid.
272So far, Audubon had shot and drawn Audubon to Lucy Audubon, November 29, 1831 (Beinecke). Audubon gave conflicting assessments of the avian bounty in northeastern Florida. Though he frequently complained of having trouble finding new species, he seems to have kept himself busy drawing and on other occasions noted the abundance of birds in the area. Presumably, he saw birds everywhere and all the time, but was sometimes frustrated by their wariness or by the fact that many were already well-known to him.
272Audubon had acquired a telescope Audubon to Lucy Audubon, December 8, 1831 (Beinecke). It’s generally thought that Audubon did not use optics in his fieldwork. This is the only reference I’m aware of that mentions either a telescope or binoculars.
272The land between the ocean and Ibid.
272In mid-December of 1831 Audubon to Lucy Audubon, January 4, 1832 (Beinecke).
272On Christmas day, about fifty miles below St. Augustine “Letter from Audubon to the Editor,” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol. I, no. 12 (1832), 529–37. The description of the approach to Bulow Plantation is a personal observation from my visit there in November 2002. The long, sandy road was empty and quiet, and the overarching live oaks seemed to close behind me as I drove slowly in, coming at last to the opening in the forest where Bulow’s house and the slave quarters once stood. A way off from this compound, in a jungly clearing, the black, hulking ruins of the sugar mill looked out of place—a fantastic mistake. Down by the creek, the clear current swept by silently, and now and then a bird called from an unseen perch in the forest.
273Audubon remained there for several weeks Audubon to Lucy Audubon, January 16, 1832 (Beinecke).
273Just before New Year’s “Letter from J. J. Audubon to the Editor,” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol. I, no. 9 (1832), 407–14.
275There was little reason to stay on Audubon to Lucy Audubon, January 16, 1832 (Beinecke).
275During his first visit to Charleston The report is quoted in Shuler, Had I the Wings, page 7.
275In Philadelphia, the short-lived “Audubon.” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol I, no. 10 (1832), 456–68.
275In February, the Philadelphia Gazette reported that Philadelphia Gazette, Feb. 11, 1832.
276There were no revenue cutters Audubon to Lucy Audubon, January 16, 1832 (Beinecke).
276East Florida, he said, was a barren place “Letter from Audubon to the Editor,” Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, vol. I, no. 12 (1832), 529–37.
276William Bartram, who had thought Ibid.
276Audubon had hoped the Spark would take him Audubon to Lucy Audubon, January 16, 1832 (Beinecke).
276Audubon went back to Charleston briefly Audubon to Lucy Audubon, April 15, 1832 (Beinecke).
276He wrote to Lucy, saying that this expedition Ibid.
276In April and May Audubon traveled Proby, Audubon in Florida, page 4.
276He even saw flamingos Audubon, “American Flamingo,” Ornithological Biography, vol. V, pages 255–64.
276Although both of the boys had grown Lucy Audubon to Audubon, March 19, 1832 (Beinecke).
277Lucy wrote to Audubon, thanking him Ibid.
277Audubon’s funds, as Lucy pointedly put it Ibid.
277“Do not come home” Ibid.
277“If you cannot come up” Ibid.
277“I will be as prudent as need be” Audubon to Lucy Audubon, April 15, 1832 (Beinecke).
277Within the year he would write to Victor Audubon to Victor Audubon, February 24, 1833 (Beinecke).
278Joseph Kidd, who had signed a contract Joseph Kidd to Victor Audubon, April 3, 1833 (Houghton).
278“I have nothing to say to you” Audubon to Victor Audubon, February 24, 1833 (Beinecke).
278“Now my Dear Sir” Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., April 20, 1833 (Houghton).
279Audubon showed the great, awkward-looking bird Audubon, The Birds of America, Plate CCCCXXIII.
279In 1833, Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon to Victor Audubon, May 31, 1833 (Beinecke).
279Here Audubon painted seabirds Audubon to Victor Audubon, September 9, 1833 (Beinecke).
279Later that year, the Audubons went to visit Audubon to Victor Audubon, November 4, 1833 (Beinecke).
279Audubon wrote to Victor that in the future Ibid.
279But in 1834 and 1835 Audubon to Robert Havell Jr., January 19, 1834 (Houghton).
279MacGillivray thought Audubon’s prose style William MacGillivray to Audubon, July 18, 1835 (Beinecke).
279He wrote to Bachman that he would rather Audubon to John Bachman, November 19, 1834 (Houghton).
280Audubon told Bachman that he was arranging Ibid.
280Audubon returned to America Audubon to John Bachman, July 9, 1836 (Houghton).
280He managed to get his hands on Audubon to John Bachman, October 2, 1836 (Houghton).
280The following year he traveled once more Audubon to [no name], February 13, 1837 (Beinecke). This letter, bearing the salutation “My Dearest Friends,” was almost certainly to the Havells, judging by its many references to drawings shipped and instructions concerning Victor’s oversight of their reproduction.
280In May 1837 John Woodhouse married Ford, John James Audubon, page 428.
280Once, when Victor had expressed concern Audubon to Victor Audubon, November 4, 1833 (Beinecke).
280Charles-Lucien Bonaparte called on Audubon Ford, John James Audubon, page 348. In a letter, Audubon to John Bachman, December 20, 1837 (Houghton), Audubon spoke derisively of Bonaparte, calling the prince “Charley,” and saying he knew far less about birds than he pretended.
280Sometime later, when Bonaparte published Ford, John James Audubon, page 351.
280Bonaparte, who was evidently Ford, John James Audubon, page 374. Ford quotes from a letter Waterton wrote to Ord, informing Audubon’s archenemy that the prince had told him directly that Audubon had not studied with David.
280Audubon eventually wrote to Bonaparte Audubon to Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, February 26, 1843 (American Philosophical Society [Bibliothèque Nationale de Museum d’Histoire Naturelle]).
281Bonaparte did not answer Stroud, The Emperor of Nature, page 198.
281Rich and eccentric, Waterton struggled Simson, “Charles Waterton: Naturalist,” a forty-page biographical pamphlet prepared in 1880 and published in Edinburgh by James Miller.
281These included his ridiculous account George Ord to Charles Waterton, April 23, 1832(American Philosophical Society). This detailed letter runs fully ten pages in Ord’s tiny, impeccable script.
281Actually, Audubon, though he exaggerated Klauber, Rattlesnakes, vol. I, page 462. Klauber states that Audubon’s enhancement of the curvature is pretty significant, and that the mockingbird plate does little to “enhance Audubon’s reputation for accuracy of detail.” But he grants the all-important point that rattlesnakes can, and sometimes do climb trees, and that the image of a rattler invading a mockingbird nest is not implausible.
